


Magical Shounen Kirihara Akaya

by Whisper132



Category: Tennis no Oujisama | Prince of Tennis
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2006-06-24
Updated: 2006-06-24
Packaged: 2017-10-23 15:35:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,880
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/251994
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Whisper132/pseuds/Whisper132
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kirihara is a closet magical girl show fan. Lots of Maruihara fluff and cuteness.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Magical Shounen Kirihara Akaya

Kirihara liked magical girl shows. He didn’t tell anyone because liking magical girl shows was the equivalent of asking to get your ass kicked. Spy shows were the preferred entertainment of Rikkai second years and, while Kirihara was on the illustrious tennis team and could whoop up on anyone while he had his racquet in hand, the judo club kids could kick his ass in the bathroom and no one would be the wiser. He’d give them a good fight, to be sure, but they’d still win. They were bigger and bulkier and knew ten different ways to pop his sternum.

Since he’d started hanging out with Marui-senpai – Marui refused to call it dating and Kirihara was patient enough to allow his senpai time for denial – he’d missed two episodes of Super Mahou Shoujo Tami. Tami was now working with her arch nemesis, Kori, and Kirihara didn’t know why. He couldn’t find episode summaries or avi files anywhere on the internet.

It was Tuesday and the show aired on Thursday. He couldn’t watch until he saw the back episodes and, if he couldn’t watch, he’d be pissy, which meant he would snap at Marui, who would get insecure and leave him.

Relationships were difficult.

“What’s the matter Kirihara-kun?” Michiko, a girl in Kirihara’s class who was deluding herself into thinking Kirihara was interested in her, popped up behind him and put her hand on his shoulder.

He shrugged it off. “Nothing. I’m just thinking.” Like he’d ever tell some nosy girl what was wrong. If anything, he’d tell Marui-senpai, but Marui was on the third floor and second years weren’t allowed up there unless they had a pass. Marui could come down to the second floor whenever he wanted because he was a hall monitor, but Marui never visited. He said it would raise suspicion.

“Akaya-kun, don’t forget the regulars’ meeting this afternoon.” Yukimura-buchou visited a lot, though, and he would know where Kirihara could find the episodes. Magical girl shows were still popular with the third years.

“Buchou, can I talk to you in private?” Kirihara pointed to the empty science lab.

“Of course,” Yukimura said. He looked around at the sudden cluster of girls around them. “If you’ll excuse us, please. We need to speak privately.” The cluster giggled, happy to have the attention. “Perhaps you could make sure we’re not disturbed?” Yukimura didn’t wait for the girls’ responses before gliding into the lab.

Yukimura-buchou was cool. It was a cool that Kirihara could never have – he would never look like a girl or have the patience to be nice to everyone – but that just made it more amazing. “I missed a show and can’t find the episodes I need. Marui-senpai could find them, but he won’t come to visit me.”

Yukimura pulled up a stool and sat, gesturing for Kirihara to do so too. “Is this really about the show, Akaya, or is it about Marui not visiting you?”

“The show! It’s on this Thursday and I can’t watch until I have the episodes!” Marui not visiting him was also a problem, but Kirihara could worry about that on Friday, after Super Mahou Shoujo Tami.

“I see.” Yukimura smiled his patient smile, the one that pissed Kirihara off because it meant Yukimura didn’t believe what Kirihara was saying, he was just humoring Kirihara until the discussion turned to whatever Yukimura thought they should be talking about. “Go on.”

“Tami’s working with her nemesis and I don’t know why, so I have to watch the two episodes I’m missing!” Kirihara relaxed his clenched fists and took a deep breathe. He couldn’t get loud, the mob of girls outside would hear.

“Is this about Marui practicing with Akutagawa-kun?” Yukimura asked. He took out his ketai and checked the time. “It’s almost time for class. Don’t worry, I’ll have Marui come down and speak with you after classes, okay?” Yukimura patted Kirihara on the head and left.

Kirihara stayed in the lab. He didn’t want to pass through the mob of girls and he didn’t want to sit through geometry. Geometry was stupid and wouldn’t tell him why Tami was working with Kori or, now that Yukimura-buchou mentioned it, why Marui-senpai needed to practice with those Hyoutei losers instead of spending more time with Kirihara.

&-&

Kirihara sat at his desk, hating the world. He got detention for skipping geometry and, after mouthing off in history, he had to copy sentences from the text – in neat handwriting. He was working on his third copy because the previous two weren’t good enough. His kanji were supposed to look dignified and filled with intention or they wouldn’t pass Itouba-sensei’s inspection. All Kirihara could manage were kanji filled with bitterness and agitation.

“Buchou said you wanted to see me?” Marui leaned over Kirihara’s shoulder.

Kirihara’s pen trailed off the end of the page. He crumpled the paper and took out a clean one. “It’s nothing.” Nothing he could talk about with five other kids in the room and an irate sensei watching his every move.

“Itouba-sensei, there are a few team issues I need to discuss with Kirihara-kun. Would it be okay if I took him away and he finished tomorrow?” Marui’s smile lit up the room. Sparkles danced around his head.

Itouba sensei nodded and scribbled a note in the detention log. “He’s served enough time, no need for him to return.”

Kirihara felt like Itouba-sensei wanted to add an “ever” to that sentence but didn’t want to seem unprofessional. “I’ll go then,” Kirihara said, trying to look solemn even though he was more than a little distracted by the bubbles of good cheer lofting around Marui’s head.

In the hallway, Marui’s expression returned to normal. “Ah, I can’t stand that guy.” Marui slipped his hands into his pants pockets and let his shoulders sink. “What’s up?”

Kirihara reached up and moved a piece of Marui’s hair that was about to go into the tensai’s eye. “I can’t find episodes 123 and 124 of Super Mahou Shoujo Tami.” Kirihara let his eyes roam around the hall. They were heading toward the tennis courts, but Marui was taking them the long way, around the east end of the building to the farthest stairs. No one was following them. “And you never come see me.” Marui didn’t like mushy discussions, but Kirihara was upset. Detention and missing his favorite show were very good reasons for Marui to be hugging him instead of just walking like they were normal kouhai and senpai.

Marui shrugged. “We can go to my place and check for them after the meeting.” Marui took a step closer but kept his hands in his pockets. “I didn’t know you wanted me to come down.” He shrugged and his shoulder bumped Kirihara’s. “You never said anything.”

“I shouldn’t have to say anything, you should just come.” Kirihara didn’t ask because he knew Marui had his “low key” rule and if Kirihara asked Marui to come down every time he felt like having his senpai there, Marui would be sitting next to Kirihara in every class, at every moment possible, and that sounded desperate. Kirihara was not desperate. “I don’t want to bother you,” Kirihara said. He stared at the floor. The tiles were scuffed up marble. He used to have fun sliding along the halls when he was in first year. He got detention for it a lot, but he didn’t really care back then. He was just a first year on the tennis team and picked up balls and ran laps every practice. Now, as a regular, he had the pride of the team to uphold, as Sanada-fukubuchou pointed out every practice.

Marui’s shoulder bumped Kirihara’s again. “If you bothered me, I’d let you know.” Marui shuffled and his arm settled warmly against Kirihara’s. He slowed their pace. “So, uh…” Marui scratched his head with his outside hand. “Crap, this sounds stupid, but you wanna stay over tonight. We can find your show and I can help you with your geometry or something.”

Kirihara’s mom would be upset if he asked to stay out on a school night, but saying no to Marui-senpai was never an option in Kirihara’s world. “Yeah.” Kirihara’s knuckles bopped against Marui’s hand, still in his pocket. “You ever watched Super Mahou Shoujo Tami before?”

They reached the stairs and Marui took his hand out of his pocket, wrapping it around Kirihara’s as they began their descent. “Yeah, there’s nothing on at that hour, so I watch it sometimes.” Marui looked at their twined hands, then up and down the staircase. “Be careful you don’t fall. They just washed the stairs.”

Kirihara rubbed his thumb over Marui’s hand, gliding it along the space between Marui’s thumb and forefinger. “You practiced too much yesterday, senpai. The skin’s all raw.” Marui had a bad habit of over-practicing his net play. He was a tensai, true, but a tensai who practiced himself to exhaustion until the move he was working on was perfect every time, no matter the play conditions.

“You didn’t call, so I got bored.” Marui shrugged and let Kirihara’s hand go. “We should hurry, the meeting’s gonna start.”

Kirihara grabbed Marui’s hand back and drew his senpai in for a quick kiss. It was light and tongueless, a rarity between them. “Fukubuchou is going to hit me for getting detention again.”

Marui leaned in and nipped Kirihara’s ear with his teeth, a promise that he’d give Kirihara a treat later for behaving so well in the kiss. “Yukimura will keep him in line. Don’t worry.” A flash of a smile, a ruffle of the hair, and Marui was two steps away with his hands in his pockets.

“He better, or I’m hitting back today.” Kirihara scowled as they passed freshmen in the hallway. If stupid freshmen left school when they were supposed to, Marui and Kirihara could still be holding hands.

“Go for it,” Marui said, all normal and good natured. “I’ll wait for you in the nurse’s office while you regain consciousness.”

“You better. It’s your fault I’m late.” Kirihara rose to the banter because it was a good cover and better than walking in awkward silence. Kirihara wanted to shuffle Marui into a closet and hold him, smell his bubblegum, kiss him and let the gum slide between and over their tongues until it strung them together and they had to use their teeth to scrape it away.

Marui bopped Kirihara on the head. “You’d still be in detention if it weren’t for me.” Marui’s eyebrows knit together. Stop daydreaming. Don’t be weird.

Kirihara couldn’t help it, though. He liked magical girl shows and Marui was the perfect prince, swooping in and saving Kirihara, then retreating as soon as the heroic music ended. They were the perfect combi, but their partnership had to be kept secret from the enemy.

“Stop smiling like that. People will stare.” Marui took another step away.

Kirihara snickered through his teeth. “Gomen, gomen.” Kirihara turned a red eye to a freshman who was looking at Marui in a way she shouldn’t. “Got a problem!?” The girl squeaked and ran into her classroom. “Magical shounen victory,” Kirihara whispered, his mood lightening, even as Marui’s pace quickened and his senpai left him behind.


End file.
